A drive around the neighborhood that surrounds Poway’s Stoneridge Country Club suggests there is a deep divide in the community.

On the lawns or in the windows of 40 homes are signs encouraging a “Yes on Measure A” vote. In front of 37 other homes, “No on A” signs are prominently displayed.

The special election in Poway is the only election being held Nov. 7 in the county. It asks voters a simple question: should zoning for part of the country club’s 117-acre property be changed to allow for the construction of no more than 180 condominiums on 25 acres.

Supporters of the measure don’t necessarily like what is happening, but say they want the initiative to pass because with it comes a guarantee from property owner Michael Schlesinger that the golf course will remain open.

Otherwise, the club and golf course will be shuttered and fenced off because it loses money every month, Schlesinger’s representatives have told homeowners and country club members. Indeed, records show the course has been consistently late this past year paying its water and energy bills. Just a few weeks ago, the city cut off the water for a brief time until the latest bill was paid.

Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune

The entrance to the Stoneridge Country Club in Poway where voters will decide whether to allow a 180-condo project.

The entrance to the Stoneridge Country Club in Poway where voters will decide whether to allow a 180-condo project. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Calling themselves Poway Open Space, a group of country club members and homeowners in the area worked with Schlesinger’s representatives to get the measure on the ballot.

“The agreement came about after a long series of negotiations to allow the owner to have a business model that would make him successful while at the same time preserve our quality of life here in North Poway,” said Mitch Steller, the president of Poway Open Space. He said he trusts Schlesinger to do what he says he will do should the measure pass. And he said the public needs to understand what a “Yes” vote means and what a “No” vote means.

“With a ‘Yes’ vote, we know what’s going to happen,” Steller said. “We’re going to get a public, new club house, a par-70 modern championship golf course, and guarantees that the rest of the property will be forever open space.

“A ‘No’ vote means the place will be shuttered, probably on Nov. 8, and that means it will turn out to be like Escondido. It will go to weeds, there will be a fence around the perimeter, nobody will be allowed to trespass, the clubhouse will be closed and we’ll end up with a serious blight upon North Poway.”

The citywide vote is needed because in 1988 Poway voters approved Prop. FF, a slow-growth initiative that says any zoning change that results in greater housing density must be approved at the ballot box. The Country Club is zoned only for recreational/open space. A “Yes” vote on Nov. 7 will change the zoning, thereby allowing Schlesinger’s development company to begin the planning process. Final approval for what is built will still be decided by the City Council.

Schlesinger is footing the bill --- roughly $350,000 — for the special election and has committed hundreds of thousands of more dollars getting it put on the ballot and marketing the measure.

Opponents, however, say they don’t trust Schlesinger to do the right thing and point to what’s happened in Escondido over the past four years as reason to be wary.

Schlesinger also owns the Escondido Country Club, which he closed in early 2013. He has since been in a development battle with the surrounding neighborhood and the city. He is considered a bully by many whose homes are near the now-overgrown golf course. An incident in 2014 when chicken manure was spread over many of the fairways, causing a terrible stench for weeks, was viewed by most as a vengeful act by Schlesinger to aggravate opponents of his development plans. The county eventually fined Schlesinger $100,000 for the incident.

Schlesinger has always maintained the manure spreading was nothing more than a landscaping mistake. The future of the Escondido golf course is still in limbo. The Escondido City Council will vote on a proposal to build 392 houses on the golf course next month.

The private agreement reached between Schlesinger and the Poway Open Space Group calls for construction of a new clubhouse and restaurant. The tennis courts and swimming pool would be removed to make way for the condos in the center of the course. Some tennis playing club members object to that, but an agreement has been worked out with another tennis club several miles where they can continue to play.

Part of the agreement calls for a deed restriction to be placed on about 92 acres of the golf course property. The restriction will be enforced upon the current and any future property owner, per the agreement.

Opponents question whether Schlesinger does what he says. The city has no way to enforce what the agreement says because it is between two private parties. Should Measure A pass, no more than 180 condos could be built. If at some point in the future more development was proposed, another citywide vote would be needed.

Some opponents say the city should step in and purchase the country club and take over operation of the golf course. Brian Edmonston, one of the most vocal critics on social media, says the city should buy the land and build a community center there.

"North Poway has always been underserved when it comes to recreational facilities,” he said. Stoneridge alleviated that problem. But with the prospect of it closing, the city should condemn the property and turn it into a second community center. This is not be possible if Measure A passes as the land would become too expensive."

But city leaders have made it clear they want nothing to do with Stoneridge and rejected getting involved a couple years ago when Schlesinger met with them. No city in California these days wants to get into the golf business, which has been floundering, with many courses going belly up because there are fewer golfers and a glut of courses. It is also difficult to fathom a conservative city council such as Poway’s condemning any property and taking it by eminent domain, as has been suggested, unless it is needed for some critical road improvements or similar urgent need.

Opponents recently have said they also will vote no because they resent being threatened. Last month, Schlesinger’s public relations representative, Sara Ellis, told the local newspaper, The Poway Chieftan, that should Measure A fail the course would be closed and fenced off a short time later. It wasn’t new information, but to many who hadn’t been paying attention the statement felt like blackmail.

The Green Valley Civic Association, a powerful umbrella homeowner’s group for northern Poway neighborhoods, has put together an impartial analysis of the measure that can be found at www.gvca.info/stoneridge/. The association does not take sides.

Members of the City Council have not taken a position on the measure. They have been advised by counsel to remain silent because should the measure pass, they will be making future land use decisions about the property. If they were to express their opinions ahead of time, they might need to recuse themselves from such future discussions.